Hertfordshire County Council is boosting its spending on smoking cessation seminars by more than £170,000 this year, in a bid to keep up with demand.

The authority's public health chiefs had already allocated £375,00 for the provision in 2026/27.

But by June 2, all the available places had been allocated – with the service then operating a waiting list.

The additional £170,455 (plus VAT) will be enough for the service to provide an additional 450 seminar places, which each cost £379.

And outlining the move, the council's decision log – published on the council's website – states: "The service has experienced significantly higher demand than originally projected, and additional places are required to meet current need.

"All available places were allocated by June 2, 2026, and the service is currently operating a waiting list.

"The service has consistently performed well and met expected outcomes, delivering strong stop smoking quit rates when compared to other services (68.75% for this year) and value for money.

"Increasing capacity will ensure continued delivery against public health priorities and maximise utilisation of the available grant funding."

According to the decision log, the additional seminars will be funded through the 'Local Authority Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant'.

The county council's executive member for public health and community safety, Cllr Ajanta Hilton (Liberal Democrat, St Stephen's), says she is "pleased" by the level of demand.

And she says it's an indication that messages about how important it is to stop smoking are getting across.

She points to data that suggests around 9% of the county's population smokes, compared to 11.5% nationally.

And she says the county's ambition is to reach the national target of 5% – with 8,517 people in Hertfordshire expected to set a quit day this year (2026/27).

Alongside the seminars, Cllr Hilton points to a range of other services that can be accessed in the county, including the Swap to Stop programme, where cigarettes are swapped for "less harmful" e-cigarettes.

She also highlights teams that support those trying to quit by making regular calls to encourage them and carbon monoxide breath testing.

And she points to the use of nicotine replacement therapy and, in some cases, prescription-only medication.

Overall, she suggests the budget allocated for smoking cessation in Hertfordshire is in excess of £1.2m, with the funding for seminars only a part of what is on offer.

Anyone seeking to access smoking cessation services in Hertfordshire can do so by texting smokefree to 80818.